Melrose native Conor Sheary received a pair of late Christmas gifts from the Boston Bruins after converting on a couple of turnovers to give the Capitals a 2-0 cushion in the first period. But it didn’t take long for the Bruins to deliver a bloody good response.
Brad Marchand set the tone after Nic Dowd made him bleed from the nose following a nasty high-sticking incident. The veteran winger tallied a goal and an assist on a 5-on-3 and 5-on-4 power play late in the opening stanza to even things up after 20 minutes.
Smelling blood out of the locker room, Matt Grzelcyk put his team ahead for good with his second of the season a mere 2:51 into the middle stanza as part of the best statistical night of his career.